


the world comes down to just a few people (but for you it comes down to one)

by ElasticElla



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 20:26:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18902038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: Marina doesn’t notice at first. She’s so grateful that the portal worked, that she’s no longer stuck in an apocalyptic world with an angry god.





	the world comes down to just a few people (but for you it comes down to one)

**Author's Note:**

> for [this writing meme](https://girljustdied.dreamwidth.org/263262.html)
> 
> title from ani difranco's light of some kind

Marina doesn’t notice at first. She’s so grateful that the portal worked, that she’s no longer stuck in an apocalyptic world with an angry god. When her summoning spell fails, she assumes her magic’s down for the count- and after dimension hopping, she isn’t surprised. 

But then she walks into this world’s version of her apartment, not a single ward before it. There’s only one possible conclusion, a terrible fate that means there are no more do-overs. This will be her only second-chance universe. 

This place has no magic. 

. 

She’s halfway through her glass of Fireball- and how very convenient that this self has her tastes too- when she realizes she jumped the gun. Marina’s already finished snooping through the obvious stuff, changed into a fresh outfit. There’s a hidden closet beneath the dresser. It’s something she’d considered before but dismissed as unnecessary, and the extra paranoia for this world probably isn’t a good sign. 

It’s full of magic books. 

Marina exhales, thumbing through the collection. Either this world has lost its magic, or she has. Neither option is great, but less dismal than she assumed. Marina pockets a ritual knife and closes up the hidden compartment. 

Assessing the apartment again, she frowns. There are magic books, but no magic. Cat food, but no cat. A pale pink sweater on the couch that is certainly not hers, and whoever it belongs to. This place feels hollow. There’s a pile of junk mail she’d stepped over at first, hadn’t thought about what it might mean. 

For once she wishes she kept a journal, is at a loss. She doesn’t know who her allies and enemies are in this world- may have been tentatively planning on torturing all the information out of her other self before disposing of her. (It probably would have served as some twisted type of catharsis.) 

Marina’s deciding between going out for a stroll or calling up her favorite delivery place and hoping a better idea comes to her when the door opens. 

There’s a beautiful girl with a sweet face, a small spark flickering in her palm. Her eyes go wide when she spots her, light flashing bright and then out. 

“Marina!” she rushes over, sweeping her up in a hug. “How are you alive?”

She considers faking it for a heartbeat. The knife is still in her back pocket, a reassurance. But whoever this is has magic and must be on decent- intimate probably given her prickly nature- terms with her other self. 

“I’m not from this universe.”

“Oh,” she says and steps back. There’s a light flush in her cheeks, and Marina wonders just how close her other self was with her. 

“Sorry, I’ve never met you back home. What’s your name?” 

“We haven’t-” the girl cuts herself off, offering an apologetic smile. “I’m Julia Wicker.” 

Jackpot. 

While Marina tends to stay away from the Brakebills crowd, she knows who their heavy hitters are. And the Wicker of her world killed a god once. 

“Marina,” she says, sitting down on the couch, and Julia follows. 

“Tell me Julia, how does Brakebills’ star student know me?” 

She breathes out an almost laugh, pushing her hair behind her ear. The room’s dim light catches her arm, crossed out stars piquing her interest even more. 

“I uh, I didn’t go to Brakebills. I am- was- a hedge.”

“One of mine,” Marina says, taking her arm. She can feel the tiny tendrils of not-quite-her magic, fingers sliding over the lines. 

“Yes.” 

“Did we become lovers before or after you betrayed me?” 

Julia’s eyes go wide, and Marina laughs before a denial can come. “Anything less and I wouldn’t have stricken your tats. So? Which was it?” 

“No, we weren’t together.”

And there must be more to it- Julia is avoiding her gaze, and she’s entirely too pretty and powerful for any version of herself not to have tried. 

“Her loss,” she says simply, and the poor girl looks lost, making her even more curious about her relationship with the other self. She’ll get to the bottom of it, eventually. 

For now, she asks an easier question, “So what were you doing in dead-me’s apartment?”

Julia’s relief is palpable, her face lighting up the room as she explains. She tells her about the gods of this world, about the loss of magic, about her death, how she seems to be the only one left with magic. 

And every word cements her decision to keep Julia. This world’s version of her was a fool- is dead for it- she won’t make such a mistake. Marina is going to do just fine in this place, won’t need another universe.


End file.
